Therapy ferrets used to kill rats at UK’s largest children’s prison
Key takeaways
- The practise of using ferrets to combat rising rat numbers at Wetherby young offender institution was approved last month.
- The unorthodox method of vermin control was waved through last month at HMYOI Wetherby in West Yorkshire following a surge in rat numbers in prison offices and grounds.
- According to a union complaint seen by the Guardian, the decision resulted in a boy who looks after ferrets witnessing an “inappropriate and potentially distressing” savaging of a screaming rat.
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The practise of using ferrets to combat rising rat numbers at Wetherby young offender institution was approved last month. Photograph: Patricia Doyle/Getty Images View image in fullscreen. The practise of using ferrets to combat rising rat numbers at Wetherby young offender institution was approved last month. Photograph: Patricia Doyle/Getty Images Prisons and probation Concerns over therapy ferrets used to kill rats at UK’s largest children’s prison Prison officers’ union calls for immediate end to practice at HMYOI Wetherby over fears for child and animal welfare
Prefer the Guardian on GooglePet ferrets kept as therapy animals at the UK’s largest children’s prison have been co-opted by managers to kill rats, resulting in a bloody incident and concerns over child and animal welfare.
The unorthodox method of vermin control was waved through last month at HMYOI Wetherby in West Yorkshire following a surge in rat numbers in prison offices and grounds.